If you’ve been reading this web post regularly, you know that I am really into Halloween. At one point, I actually had more storage bins full of Halloween decorations than I did for Christmas (though I have been trying bit-by-bit to scale back on all… Read More
In what might be considered the very first reality show, This Is Your Life aired on NBC television from 1952 to 1961. I’m giving away my age by confessing that I remember the TV show. It actually began as a radio show in… Read More
It’s June, the season of awards and accolades, of graduations and weddings, of summer relaxation and new beginnings come fall. It is the apex of the season of success, celebrating both real achievements of the past and anticipated accomplishments in the future. June means hope… Read More
In the early days of silent movies, story lines were pretty simple. They always offered adventure and romance, always employed stock characters (good guys, bad guys, and damsels in distress), and were often told as familiar Westerns. Stories set in the wild west were popular… Read More
Letters. Gifts of thought for an audience of one — you. Neither as transient as a phone call nor as expedient as an e-mail nor as perfunctory as a text message, a personal hand-written letter is valued precisely because it isn’t technological, because it… Read More
From September, 1994, to May, 2004, a very popular, award-winning television sitcom aired on NBC called “FRIENDS.” It was about six friends in their early 20s and 30s who lived in Manhattan and it followed the ups and downs of their daily lives..… Read More
I have always been a worrier, perhaps because I have always lived for the future. Plans, goals, benchmarks all dominated my thinking for many, many years, not only for myself, but for my family, my students, and my colleagues. I was so goal oriented… Read More
Here we are again at the “intermezzo” of the year, before old becomes new again. We’re eating leftovers from Christmas, picking up all the trash, putting away dishes and gifts (if any), and settling down to write some notes, review the year, and yes —… Read More
November 13 is World Kindness Day, and the whole week of November 13-19 is Kindness Week. No doubt you’ve heard of “random acts of kindness,” such as paying for a stranger’s cup of coffee or leaving money for someone’s groceries in line behind you.… Read More
I have always loved the sky. My father did too. Having been an Army Air Corps flight instructor during WWII, he became a commercial airline pilot afterward. His passion was planes and flying. When I was little — I mean really little, like 4 or… Read More
the narrative thread 